State Rep. James Talarico (D-Texas), fresh off his upset victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March 3 Democratic primary, has emerged as the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas.
Positioning himself as a moderate on immigration—famously likening the southern border to a “front porch” with a “giant welcome mat” and a lock—Talarico seeks to appeal to a broad electorate ahead of November’s general election against the Republican nominee.
Yet Talarico’s record reveals a history of sharper rhetoric, including calls to dismantle ICE as a “secret police force,” demands to impeach its leadership, and support for groups aiding undocumented immigrants in evading enforcement, raising questions about the depth of his claimed moderation.
Talarico beat Crockett in the March 3 Democratic primary to represent Texas in the Senate, as The Dallas Express reported. Meanwhile, incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are heading to a runoff for the Republican Senate nomination.
Ahead of November’s midterm election, Talarico has been presenting himself as a moderate on many issues, including immigration. “Our southern border should be like our front porch,” Talarico said in one viral interview. “There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the front door.”
Democrat TX nominee for Senate, James Talarico: “Our southern border should be like our front porch.. there should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the front door”pic.twitter.com/HviPAsejSi
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) March 4, 2026
In the past, however, Talarico has taken far more radical stances. In January, Talarico led a “Stop ICE Rally.” There, he called to “fight back.”
“It is time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that actually can promote public safety,” Talarico said to the roaring crowd. “We must impeach Secretary Kristi Noem, we must prosecute agents who abuse their power, and we must haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”
Talarico claimed Trump was using ICE to scare people into submission. “Don’t draw attention to yourself. Don’t speak your mind. Don’t criticize the state,” he said. “Otherwise you’ll be disappeared or even killed.”
Talarico made these remarks four months after a sniper attacked the ICE-Dallas facility in September 2025, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. The shooter reportedly believed ICE was committing “human trafficking,” and he set out to kill federal agents – instead, killing two detainees.
Republican National Committee Spokesman Zach Kraft expressed concerns to The Dallas Express about Talarico’s remarks.
“With assaults on ICE agents up 1,300%, it is alarming that James Talarico encouraged criminal illegal aliens to ‘fight back,’” Kraft said.
“Talarico is a dangerous radical who has demonstrated over and over that when forced to choose, he will side with his open borders agenda over law enforcement every single time,” Kraft added.
A Radical Past
Talarico called ICE a “secret police force” in a primary debate with Crockett.
“It’s time to tear down this secret police force, and replace it with an agency that actually is going to focus on public safety,” Talarico said.
He echoed his previous points about the need to impeach Noem, prosecute ICE agents, and “haul these masked men before Congress.”
The Texas legislature passed a nearly $2 billion border security bill in 2021 – including $750 million to continue border wall construction as federal efforts stopped under then-President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the Texas Tribune.
Soon after the funding passed, Talarico complained the state was “wasting billions on a border wall.” He also mourned what he called a “dark day in our state’s history,” pointing to legislation protecting unborn children, banning race-based lessons in the classroom, and reinforcing Second Amendment rights.
Even earlier, Talarico promoted the far-left open borders group United We Dream.
United We Dream publishes tips to help illegal aliens evade ICE, often posted in places like coffee shops across DFW, as The Dallas Express reported. The group in 2017 claimed Paxton and “white supremacists in the White House” were pushing “vicious hate.”
“The Trump Administration is conducting raids to deport thousands of undocumented Americans across our country starting on Sunday,” Talarico posted in July 2019. “Please RT these graphics from @UNITEDWEDREAM to keep our immigrant neighbors safe.”
Talarico continued on to compare illegal immigration to historic legal immigration throughout American history. He said illegal aliens are just “trapped in a deeply broken and unjust immigration system.”
“If your parents brought you to Mexico City when you were 3 year[s] old without documentation,” he added, “if you attended Mexican schools, if you graduated from a Mexican university, if you got a job in the Mexican economy, if the only language you knew was Spanish, if the only family and friends you knew were in Mexico… then wouldn’t you consider yourself Mexican?”
“Whether or not I considered myself Mexican would be beside the point,” one user replied. “If I didn’t have legal documentation from the Mexican government saying I was Mexican, I wouldn’t in fact be Mexican.”
A Stark Choice for Texas
As the November general election draws near in this pivotal Texas Senate showdown, Texas voters face a stark choice that goes far beyond Talarico’s carefully curated campaign image. His recent pivot to portraying the southern border as a hospitable “front porch” with a “giant welcome mat” and a “lock” may sound reassuring on the surface, but it crumbles under scrutiny when juxtaposed against his long history of radical anti-enforcement activism.
These aren’t isolated slips—they form a clear pattern of prioritizing open-borders ideology over the safety of American communities.
In a state that values secure borders, the rule of law, and putting American citizens first, Talarico’s record reveals a candidate fundamentally at odds with mainstream Texas values.
Texans know the stakes: November isn’t just about electing a senator—it’s about rejecting radicalism disguised as moderation and choosing leadership that safeguards our sovereignty, our security, and our future.
